Private Practice recruitment

Local and international recruitment advisors

Our long-term proven success in recruiting private practice lawyers is due to our unrivalled market knowledge, locally and internationally. We have access to the key hiring decision-makers in law firms and have helped many lawyers advance their careers.

Our success stems from having built long term relationships with clients. We tailor our services to each individuals need, act as trusted partners drawing from our extensive network and bespoke approach to recruitment

Advice you can trust

Lawyers appreciate our honest, direct and practical advice – we introduce lawyers to the right people at the right time. Our private practice consultants each have legal and recruitment experience and an in-depth knowledge of each firm enabling us to accurately match lawyers with suitable opportunities.

We guide everyone throughout the complex hiring process, including coaching and mentoring at key stress points such as interview preparation and salary negotiation.

Get in touch with our Private Practice team to discuss your career or business goals.

Marsden Insights

Testimonials

Corporate lawyer from a silver circle

I am a mid-level solicitor specialising in construction who has recently moved to the Middle East from the UK having secured a position with a global private practice firm with the assistance of Sarah Marsden. I would absolutely recommend Sarah to anyone looking to make a similar move. Sarah's in-depth knowledge of the market and in particular the firms I was targeting was invaluable in coming to this decision. Moving firms let alone country can be a stressful process but Sarah helped make it a positive experience with her support and guidance throughout. Sarah was able to offer insight into the background of the firms I was looking at (which you couldn’t necessarily gather yourself through research) and their position in the market which enabled me to make an informed decision. Sarah clearly understands the Middle East market, the firms that operate within it and what they're looking for and I would encourage anyone thinking of making a similar move to get in touch with her.

Associate, US Firm, Sydney

My experience in working with Dave has been great. He is very honest and genuine and in my experience he wouldn’t recommend a role that he doesn’t think is the right fit. Highly recommend.

A finance Lawyer from London to an in-house role in Dubai

I was searching for a job for quite sometime when I first got in touch with Sarah Marsden, who sooner became not just the person who introduced me to my current employer but also a mentor and advisor who catered my job hunt experience to best suit my background and preferences.

Restructuring lawyer moving from Canada to London

I would recommend The Marsden Group to any lawyer who is considering an international move. My recruiters were extremely knowledgeable and on top of the various trends in the legal market. They also had long standing relationships with the top tier firms and so I knew they would present me with only the best opportunities. I found they genuinely cared about me and my career move and took the time to understand why I was moving and what type of experience I was looking for. They helped me every step of the way from putting together my resume to prepping for interviews (and calming my nerves!) to negotiating offers and, in the end, helping me decide whether this was truly the right opportunity for me. To this day, they still maintain a keen interest in my progress. It is a testament to their professionalism, honesty, trustworthiness and enthusiasm that we have become friends through this process.

A mid level finance Lawyer from London to an in-house role in Dubai

I was searching for a job for quite sometime when I first got in touch with Sarah Marsden, who sooner became not just the person who introduced me to my current employer but also a mentor and advisor who catered my job hunt experience to best suit my background and preferences.

Banking Irish lawyer moving from Ireland to London

I am a banking associate who has recently moved from Ireland to a large US firm in London with the assistance of Marsden International. I dealt with Michelle Mills and cannot praise her highly enough for the first class service she provided.
At the outset, Michelle invested significant time in getting to know me and my experience and discussing the various options available to me (both jurisdictions and firms). Following this, she was able to offer impartial tailored advice which enabled me to select a shortlist of firms to be approached. Once I got to interview stage, Michelle's in-depth knowledge of the market and the firms I was targeting was invaluable in preparing me for the interview process. Throughout the process Michelle was professional, dedicated, responsive and pro-active.
I would recommend Marsden International and, in particular, Michelle to any lawyer who is considering making a move.

Senior litigation associate moving to a Magic circle firm in London

I cannot praise Michelle highly enough for her assistance in making my move from a large city law firm to a magic circle firm. Friendly, responsive, pro-active and with an impressive knowledge of the legal market, I couldn't have hoped for a better recruitment consultant to assist with the recruitment process. It really is refreshing to deal with someone who has your best interests at heart and who you feel you can trust. I would highly recommend her to prospective job hunters and employers alike.

President and CEO of US contractor firm

I have met many recruiters and worked with quite a few but none have shown the experience, dedication, work ethic, intelligence and success that Caroline demonstrated when I worked with her. I highly recommend her.

For lawyers considering international opportunities, I would recommend dealing with The Marsden Group as their best option. They are leaders in this area hands down. While other recruiting firms may have postings for international jobs, my experience with The Marsden Group was that they had by far the best insight into those international markets and direct longstanding relationships with the firms operating there. I also felt they really hustled on my behalf, and actively started exploring opportunities as soon as I approached them with my desire to work abroad. I dealt with their agents in various jurisdictions and they all worked together to find me an excellent role aligned with my background and career objectives.

Regulatory Irish lawyer moving from Ireland to London

Marsden International helped me make the move not only to a different jurisdiction (Ireland to the UK) but also to a different legal practice area. Michelle Mills who I dealt with is extremely responsive, friendly and approachable and really knows the market. She kept me updated on every stage of the process and ensured that I was placed into a firm that was the right fit for my experience and personality. I would highly recommend her and Marsden International to anybody who intends on making the move to a City firm in London.

Associate, White Shoe Firm, NYC

David went over and above for me to make sure he found the right role, in the right city, at the right firm. He was honest and upfront with me, and was always looking out for my best interests. I cannot recommend him highly enough. An absolute pleasure to work with and an extremely talented recruiter.

Associate, US Firm, Sydney

My experience in working with Dave has been great. He is very honest and genuine and in my experience he wouldn’t recommend a role that he doesn’t think is the right fit. Highly recommend.

Marsden Group is significantly different from most legal recruitment firms that I have used. I was not pushed into seeing anyone but rather my preferences were respected. Instead of sending my CV to every law firm which was recruiting at my level, we worked on a proper strategy for weeks before my CV was finally sent out. I felt I could be honest and trust the judgment of the firms recommended to me. Once I received an offer I didn’t feel under pressure to accept the offer. Their overall service is excellent. My consultant was courteous, professional, responsive and attentive. I would highly recommend Marsden.

Corporate lawyer moving from a major law firm in London to Dubai

The Marsden Group exceeded expectations and went above and beyond at every level. Sarah took the time to get to know me, my experience, my goals and my requirements and worked tirelessly to find roles that encompassed all of these. Sarah was available to me at all times of the day and was keen to assist in all areas from CV building to interview preparation. She worked seamlessly with colleagues around the world to be able to keep me updated and informed of all potential options, while also making sure that roles she suggested were tailored appropriately. Sarah wasn’t afraid to recommend not going forward for roles she did not consider appropriate, which allowed both of us to focus on the roles that were. Despite the high level of competition for jobs and a slow market Sarah was able to relocate me to Dubai with an international law firm which I feel fits everything we had discussed in our first days of knowing each other. I cannot recommend Sarah or the Marsden Group enough and although I do not think I will need to use them again anytime soon I will forever be a loyal client!

Associate, Magic Circle firm, London

Dave was excellent to work with and I cannot recommend him enough. From our initial phone call to keeping in touch post-placement to ensure my new role was going well. I was impressed by his professionalism and dedication to helping me secure the perfect role. He was honest and ensured to keep me in the loop consistently and such a pleasure to work with

Associate, Melbourne to London Firm

I got in touch with Michelle when I was looking to transition from commercial law in Melbourne to a role in London. With Michelle’s help, I was successful in obtaining a permenant Associate role with a well-regarded City firm. I would highly recommend Michelle - throughout the recruitment process she was highly responsive, supportive and approachable. She has an excellent working knowledge of the London legal market

NQ corporate lawyer placed from a local firm in HK to Deacons, a regional Asian firm

Sally and her team delivered a friendly, attentive as well as effective service in helping me land this job. Sally is professional and trustworthy and I would recommend her services without hesitation.

UK Corporate Lawyer moving from US firm to Tokyo

I was highly impressed by the proactive efforts which the Marsden team undertook, not just to respond to advertised positions, but to utilise their strong client relationships with top law firms in order to investigate potential opportunities on my behalf. This approach ultimately lead to the opening of a position at a Magic Circle firm, which I then succeeded in securing.

Associate, Magic Circle firm, London

I had such a great experience with Marsden recruitment! I cannot thank Karen Waldock (Brisbane office) enough for the help I received. When I arrived I was just about to start my final year of law school and had never had a legal job before. Karen prepared me for interviews, gave me the confidence I needed and helped me perfect my resume. She did this will such ease, professionalism and fun that I truly enjoyed myself along the way. I have referred her to my friends and am very happily placed at the job I found with Marsden’s help.
I could not recommend David highly enough. From our first call, he went above and beyond to help me find the job I was after; he listened to the type of role and location I was after and tailored all applications to fit my needs. Having spoken to other recruiters, the personalised service received from David and Marsden Group blew me away. David guided me through the entire application process, spending a lot of time preparing me for interviews etc. Once I landed my dream job with David’s help, his service didn’t stop there (while it could have) – I received congratulatory cards, assistance with the process of resigning from my former role and, most impressively, on the first day at my new job I had an email wishing me luck. I was also contacted by a colleague of David’s in the London office after I moved to check in and see how I was doing. It’s the thoughtful and considered approach David brings to the table that makes him a pleasure to work with. I have already recommended him to a number of friends looking for new roles and will continue to do so.

Silver Circle Corporate lawyer moving from London to Singapore

The Marsden Group offer something quite unique; a personal service and a truly global footprint. They invested time at the outset to get to know me and understand my experience. They listened to my goals and suggested several paths to achieve them. They were equally as happy to not put me forward for opportunities they thought were not suitable as they were working proactively and tirelessly on those that were. With Jonathan in London and Sally in Asia they were able to offer a round the clock service; from coffee and croissant breakfast meetings to midnight interview preparation calls to 6am good luck texts. Despite the tough economic climate The Marsden Group delivered exactly what I wanted and they promised: relocation from London to Singapore and an opportunity to work for a top tier international firm. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

New Zealand Litigator moving to a top tier firm in Sydney

Kara Plummer was fantastic to work with. She went to great efforts to find the particular role I was looking for and genuinely had my best interests at heart when doing so. I can honestly say that accepting my current role was the best career decision I have made and I can't thank Kara enough for that. I would highly recommend working with Kara if seeking to explore new opportunities.